Turn of the Century

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Turn Of The Century" CD is about the passing of a torch from one turn of the century to the next. Throughout history, this passing has always been a significant period of time - from the 1890s to the early 20th Century; from the 1990s to the dawn of the 21st Century - filled with melancholy for the past and hope for new beginning.

Musically the 'Turn of The Century' CD is an eclectic blend of classical, 20th century chamber music, jazz, poetry and many sights, sounds and experiences that the art and cultural center of America has to offer.

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

A Day In Hollywood A Night In Ukraine: Just Go To The Movies - Priscilla Lopez/David Garrison/Frank Lazarus/Stephen James/Peggy Hewett/Kate Draper
Babes In Arms: I Wish I Were In Love Again - Christopher Fitzgerald Jessica Stone
Pal Joey: Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered - Patti LuPone
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend - KT Sullivan
Nunsense: I Just Want To Be A Star - Christine Anderson
Louisiana Purchase: Wild About You - Debbie Gravitte & New York Voices
Oil City Symphony: Beaver Ball At The Bug Club - Mike Craver/Mark Hardwick/Debra Monk/Mary Murfitt
Falsettoland: The Baseball Game - Michael Rupert/Chip Zien/Faith Prince/Janet Metz/Heather MacRae/Stephen Bogardus
Very Good Eddie: Isn't It Great To Be Married? - Virginia Seidel/Spring Fairbank/Charles Repole/Nicholas Wyman
The Fantasticks: A Perfect Time To Be In Love - Harvey Schmidt
Call Me Madam: You're Just In Love - Tyne Daly/Lewis Cleale
Taking My Turn: Fine For The Shape I'm In - Margaret Whiting/Marnie Nixon/Cissy Houston
A Party With Betty Comden & Adolph Green: The French Lesson - Betty Comdon/Adolph Green
The Madwoman Of Central Park: Better - Phyllis Newman
Greenwillow: Never Will I Marry - Anthony Perkins
Song Of Singapore: I Can't Remember - Loretta Swit & Company
Tintypes: Elite Syncopation/I'm Goin' To Live Anyhow, 'Til I Die - Lynne Thigpen
I Love My Wife: Someone Wonderful I Missed - Joanna Gleason/Ilene Graff
The Good Companions: The Pleasure Of Your Company - Malcolm Rennie/Christopher Gable
Forbidden Broadway 20th Anniversary: Liza One-Note - Christine Pedi
Meet Me In St. Louis: The Trolley Song - Donna Kane & Ensemble

Tracks:

4 Guys Named Jose...And Una Mujer Named Maria!: Feel It - Philip Anthony/Henry Gainza/Allen Hidalgo/Ricardo Puente
Fame - The Musical: There She Goes!/Fame - Natasha Rennalls & Ensemble
Do Re Mi: What's New At The Zoo? - Heather Headley/The Animal Girls
High Society: Once Upon A Time/True Love - Melissa Errico/Daniel McDonald
Tenderloin: Artificial Flowers - Patrick Wilson
State Fair: Driving At Night/Our State Fair - Company
Kiss Me, Kate: Were Thine That Special Face - Brian Stokes Mitchell
Black And Blue: Black And Blue - Linda Hopkins/Ruth Brown/Carrie Smith
The Green Bird: O Foolish Heart - Company
Out Of This World: From This Moment On - Marin Mazzie/Gregg Edelman
The Boys From Syracuse: This Can't Be Love - Davis Gaines/Sarah Berry
Snoopy!!!: Poor Sweet Baby - Pamela Myers
SeesawNobody Does It Like Me - Michele Lee
March Of The Falsettos: I Never Wanted To Love You - Michael Rupert/Stephen Bogardus/Alison Fraser/Chip Zien/James Kushner
Lunch: Perfectly Alone - Carol Burnett
3hree: Foolish Dreamin'/Something Beautiful/Real Enough To Change My Mind - Jessica Molaskey/Will Gartshore/Rachel Ulanet
Lucky In The Rain: Love Me As If There Were No Tomorrow - Barbara Cook
Godspell: All Good Gifts - Sal Sabella & Company
The Act: Walking Papers - Liza Minnelli & Company

Customer Reviews:

Great compilation.......2002-05-10

I don't actually own this particular compilation, however, since I own nearly every recording represented on these discs...I think I'm qualified to comment. This is a wonderful representation of the high quality of work that DRG Records does.
The previous review is way off the mark. This is definitely not a waste of time or money. This is 25 years of preserving Broadway shows, Off-Broadway shows, studio recordings (mostly from the city center concerts), etc. So what if they "aren't as good as the original", DRG is preserving many recordings and artists that other mainstream labels don't or won't. You have wonderful recordings from Brian Stokes Mitchell, Nathan Lane, Debbie Gravitte, Tyne Daly, Anthony Perkins, Joanna Gleason, Marin Mazzie, Carol Burnett, Heather Headley, Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, etc., and many of these are from Original Cast Recordings just as they appeared on Broadway. This is an excellent sampler of the work going on at DRG. No...I'm not an employee...just an avid listener and collector of theatre recordings.

A disappointment.......2001-12-15

There's a reason you've probably never heard of most of the songs and shows on this album, not to mention most of the artists. This is a second-rate collection of second-rate numbers performed by mostly second-rate artists. In the case of the shows that were revivals, the performances on the original cast recordings were better. Don't waste your money.

Britten: The Turn of the Screw (complete opera)

Average customer rating:

One of the best opera recordings of the decade
LIBERA NOS A MALO
A WONDERFUL OPERA, BUT.............
Fine recording of a haunting opera

Britten: The Turn of the Screw (complete opera)
Ian Bostridge , Joan Rodgers , Benjamin Britten , Daniel Harding , and Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Britten - The Turn of the Screw / Bedford, Field, Davies, Greagor, Obata, Schwetzinger Festpiele, Stuttgart
Benjamin Britten - The Turn of the Screw / Padmore · Milne · Wyn Davies · Montague · City of London Sinfonia · Hickox
Britten: The Rape of Lucretia; Phaedra
Stravinsky - The Rake's Progress / Bostridge · York · Terfel · von Otter · Howells · LSO · Gardiner
Richard Strauss - Capriccio / Schwarzkopf, Wächter, Gedda, Fischer-Dieskau, Hotter, Ludwig, Moffo, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sawallisch

ASIN: B0000646J2
Release Date: 2002-09-17

Tracks:

Prologue
Theme
Scene 1. The Journey
Variation I
Scene 2. The Welcome
Variation II
Scene 3. The Letter
Variation III
Scene 4. The Tower
Variation IV
Scene 5. The Window
Variation V
Scene 6. The Lesson
Variation VI
Scene 7. The Lake
Variation VII
Scene 8. At Night

Tracks:

Variation VII
Scene 1. Colloquy And Solilquy
Variation XI
Scene 2. The Bells
Variation X
Scene 3. Miss Jessel
Variation XI
Scene 4. The Bedroom
Variation XII
Scene 5. The Quint
Variation XIII
Scene 6. The Piano
Variation XIV
Scene 7. The Flora
Variation XV
Scene 8. Miles

Amazon.com

This clearly, carefully played performance of what is certainly one of the world's spookiest operas is just about everything but spooky. Conductor Daniel Harding has a feel for the music but not the atmosphere, and so some moments are rushed which ought to be lingered over and vice-versa. Star tenor Ian Bostridge sings the pivotal role of the ghostly Peter Quint with elegance and beautiful tone--certainly two attributes his predecessors on CD lacked--but these are traits that work against the character. His eerie calling of the boy's name over and over again early in the opera is a model of good singing of difficult music, but that's not what we should be noticing. A pity, since Joan Rodgers's Governess is near ideal in her combination of terror, sadness, and weirdness. The children are convincing (though the Miles is not as good as David Hemmings on Britten's own recording), and as mentioned, the playing is near perfect and all the instruments in this wonderfully, economically scored work are audible. This is a truly great opera. You should own the Decca version, led by the composer himself, despite that it isn't up to this new one sonically. Bostridge fans will not be disappointed here, but Britten fans will want to hear Peter Pears in the role of Quint. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

One of the best opera recordings of the decade.......2006-05-23

As a non-fan of Ian Bostridge and the owner of two very good recordings of 'The Turn of the Screw,' I had avoided buying this new set. NOw that I have, I am amazed by its quality. Daniel Harding imparts riveting musical excitement into Britten's score, but more than that, the psychologtical realism from every singer hasn't been matched in any previous recording. Aided by crystal-clear sonics, each performer gives us every syllable of the all-important text. This can't be said even of Britten's classic (mono) recording or the excellent version under his disciple Steuart Bedford, where the resonant acoustic badly garbles the words.

This crystalline clarity draws one vividly into th cloudy terrors of James's ghost story, one in which extreme psychological states are hinted at but only occasionally erupt on the surface (in this regard, Turn of the Screw is Britten's mini-version of Pelleas and Melisande). Considering that Harding's conducting outdoes the composer, himself a great conductor, one expects even greater things from him in the future. The Amazon reviewer makes too much of Bostridge's pretty singing style--the tenor does a lot to change his tone into errie timbres when it's called for, and the very fact that he sounds boyish is creepy in and of itself. In sum, this performance is all but definitive.

LIBERA NOS A MALO.......2005-04-13

A good many years ago I attended a performance of The Turn of the Screw with Pears as Quint. Enough recollection stays with me to put Bostridge into some sort of context, and the general quality of the rest of that staging was nowhere near in the class of what we have here. I also had the opportunity to hear Daniel Harding conduct a concert of standard fare by Wagner, Mahler and Beethoven in Berlin just under a year ago, and this set reinforces what I suspected at that time, namely that great things might be expected of Harding were he given a bigger challenge.

This performance is nothing short of electrifying so far as I'm concerned. Harding's very thrusting tempi are to my own taste, as the plot of this sinister and ambiguous story tumbles headlong through fear, panic and nightmare. Neither Bostridge as Quint nor Vivian Tierney as Miss Jessel try to sing in `haunted-house' voices, nor should they in my opinion. In life both had obviously exercised personal human magnetism, however twisted or perverted Quint's personality might have been. Britten himself handles the sinister dimension through his vocal line and his orchestration, and he does not overdo it. Many years earlier Schubert had the sense and insight not to set the speeches of Goethe's Erlking to spooky music whereas Loewe did not, and interpreters should not try to force the issue here either. In any case no composer would give a bogeyman part to a tenor. Really this point is part and parcel of how one reads the story as a whole. Are Quint and Miss Jessel `real' in the sense that you or I might have seen or heard them if we had turned up on the scene collecting for charity or in some such totally uninvolved capacity? The more `real' they are in that sense the less they should be acted as fairground bogeys - the whole meaning of this story depends on the grip that Quint and Jessel retain on the children from the other side, and they gained that grip in the first place through being attractive human personalities in some sense. James quite explicitly refused to come off the fence as regards this, and just as explicitly said that it was for us to do our best with the question. I don't even believe that the admirable libretto by Myfanwy Piper comes off the fence either (nor should it), despite putting utterances into the mouths of the two and even giving them a ghostly dialogue - this could be perfectly well explained as dramatic licence, with the dead talking through their interaction in life as they might have been supposed to do while they still saw the sunlight. As for the rest, the Governess is a young, inexperienced and presumably nubile woman, Mrs Grose is an impressionable old biddy, and Miles is a boy on the verge of puberty, the very age most associated with recorded cases of poltergeists, telekinetic manifestations and other such problematical occurrences. What seems clear enough is that it was certainly not all just imagination or `dreaming'. At the very least there was some kind of `atmosphere' around the house of Bly, and I myself countenance no explanation that removes this great tale from the category of `ghost story'.

One can nitpick in various ways if one wants to, but I don't given that I side with the production in respect of the major points of issue. Jane Henschel's voice is probably more suggestive of the Royal College of Music than of a simple uneducated countrywoman, but what really made a big impression on me was how successfully this production dealt with the practical problem of a 2-hour-plus music-drama in which there is only one resonant male voice, and that in a comparatively brief part. The fast underlying pulse contributes a lot to this particular success, I don't for a moment doubt. The youngsters do very well indeed, the orchestra, who I understand to be a handpicked group, perform quite brilliantly in a dazzlingly-written score, and the recording does them all justice.

The liner note is far better than many, but it irritated me a little through its pretentious tone. The material on the music itself is more what a BMus student might write to impress examiners rather than my idea of something that gives illumination to the listener. As regards the background, it is really quite insightful here and there despite a certain amount of psychobabble (`...a knowing innocent caught between a threatening lover and a stifling mother-figure is perhaps too down to earth...and ultimately too reductive in general') and sociobabble (`...he is at another level equally preoccupied with the issues of social control and oppression resulting from the imposition of sexuality as a controlling force in modern society - issues which are no less social for being presented in this oblique guise'). Where it does seem to me acute and to the point is in recognising the effects of a culture that met even the normal processes of sexuality with repression and with denial. That this must have been particularly stressful and confusing for a composer whose own inclinations were literally a crime if acted on in his day seems only too easy to imagine. That the tensions thus engendered were a powerful stimulus to his genius I do not doubt either, and his pain is our gain.

A WONDERFUL OPERA, BUT....................2002-10-01

Benjamin Britten is one of the great composers of the Twentieth Century and, personally, one of my all-time favorites. That said, I just do not understand the "necessity" of a new recording of his opera THE TURN OF THE SCREW when there are three first-rate recordings available, one of them quite extraordinary.

The opera is certainly not as frequently performed as are either of Britten's two masterpieces, PETER GRIMES and BILLY BUDD mainly, I would guess, because it is a small story told with a small cast and a small (13 pieces total) orchestra. It simply would be drowned in most opera houses. The last time I saw the opera in a very interesting production at the New York City Opera, the space and the number of seats simply engulfed the characters; one could not concentrate on the story. How terrific it would be to see THE TURN OF THE SCREW in a theatre with only, say, 1000 seats.

The story is, of course, based on the Henry James novella and it is brilliantly set to music by Britten, with two starring roles for children as well as the soprano who plays their governess. There was a fine movie adapted from the James which starred Deborah Kerr as the children's governess and a more recent one, with Nicole Kidman.

The main reason for buying this CD set is because Ian Bostridge, a true star tenor, is playing the role of "Peter Quint." Bostridge has a gorgeous voice and, in person, he is a handsome, sensual performer. But in this recording, at least, there is not enough of the other-wordly about him, not enough depth of character, not enough acting and, in fact, too much purely beautiful singing.

THE TURN OF THE SCREW is a wonderful musical drama. If you want to investigate it, try the original recording on Decca starring Britten's muse, the incomparable Peter Pears.

Fine recording of a haunting opera.......2002-09-18

I always find Benjamin Britten's chamber opera THE TURN OF THE SCREW to be rather fascinating, as the work, which is based on Henry James' novella, is amenable to different interpretations. "Are Peter Quint and Miss Jessel ghosts, or are they merely figments of the imagination of the Governess?" one may ask. Stage producers can therefore either subscribe to the "hallucination theory or the "apparition school", or indeed a mixture of both. However, with Peter Quint and Miss Jessel actually singing quite a lot in the opera (unlike those mute phantoms in James' literary creation) and apparently communicating actively with the children, it is quite inevitable that the audience may conclude that some supernatural powers are indeed at work in Bly. Anyway, the unrelieved dramatic tension of the plot, the clever musical and structural design of the opera, the vivid characters and the splendid orchestration for a chamber orchestra comprising of virtuoso instrumentalists have rendered this work a masterpiece.

Like the case for the drama, there can be different interpretations for some of the roles, as shown in this new recording of the complete opera by Virgin Classics. Joan Rodgers, in the central role of the Governess, gives a splendid performance. Her voice, young sounding and radiantly lyrical, is perfect for the part. Some may find this Governess not sufficiently desperate when confronted by the worsening scenario. Yet, I believe Rodgers has here chosen an alternative approach that highlights the steely will power of the character. Indeed, one can gradually sense the Governess's increasing determination, and perhaps even obsession, in protecting the children, Miles in particular, which somehow renders her no less a predator vis-a-vis the children than Quint, and therefore equally responsible for the final tragedy. Indeed, when she and Quint sing the same musical lines (but to slightly different texts) immediately after the collapse of Miles, one realises with a shudder that perhaps the Governess and Quint are actually spiritual siblings and, instead of being deadly opponents, are merely the two sides of the same coin, as has been hinted at by Britten's remarkable music for these two pivotal roles.

Quint is here sung by Ian Bostridge, who delivers an object lesson in operatic pronunciation. His is extremely vivid in the Prologue, making every word tell and thereby very successfully sets the stage for the enigma that is to unfold. In the opera proper, this fine tenor, who has garnered so much praise for his lieder singing, infuses every note with meaning, from which one can get more than a glimpse of the sinister nature of the dark character that he is portraying. Quint's eerie melismas at his first vocal entrance are incanted with great musical precision. That said, I found this passage to be not as rhythmically pliant or seductive as it should be, in particular as these vocal melismas are usually regarded as the personification of sweet corruption. Vivian Tierney is a gleaming and vocally rock solid Miss Jessell, who succeeds in conveying much of the character's frustration, even though a more melancholic or mournful delivery of some of her laments may have suited the role even more.

Jane Henschel is a formidable Mrs Grose. While her voice is a trifle too large for the role, and her singing at times sounds a little unwieldy, her characterization (through subtle vocal inflections) is enormously interesting for, unlike the straight-forward and up-right house-keeper that we usually encounter in the part, one cannot be sure this time which side of the fence she is actually sitting on. Quite a dramatically ambiguous, and therefore interesting, portrayal! The children roles of Miles and Flora are often difficult to cast, and here they are taken by Julian Leang and Caroline Wise, whose voices and demeanor suit the characters well. Yet, Leang sometimes sounds a trifle too weak in voice, especially in the final scene where Miles, forced into a tight corner by the two adults, should more appropriately sound like a person at the end of his tether rather than the wayward kid who is merely sulking.

Daniel Harding and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra give a refreshing, texturally transparent and technically most accomplished account of the wonderful score. The instrumentalists all play with diamond precision and their teamwork is exemplary. Their evocation of nature is beautifully handled and there is always a palpable sense of inner tension, which is so important for this work. However, some of the climaxes (such as the duet of Quint and Miss Jessell that opens Act II, the macabre piano-playing scene and the final passacaglia) are somewhat understated (or too cautiously handled) such that some of their musical impact is lost as a result.

Customer Reviews:

another great gerard schwarz cornet album.......2006-02-02

Once again I am amazed by a great Gerrard Schwarz album. I own all of his albums and bought this one right away. I think he is quite possibly the most musical trumpet/cornet player ever to play alongside Maurice Andre. This album is great, and there are many more albums featuring these great players that should be re-released, such as "Festival of Trumpets" with the new york trumpet ensemble. Nontheless this album is a must pickup for any music enthusiast.

Not Your Normal Repertoire....but EXCELLENT!.......2005-09-27

I didn't know what to make of this CD before I bought it, and still haven't totally figured it out as I was listening to it, but I did find it very enjoyable. "Turn Of The Century Cornet Favorites", as this CD is titled, seems to be a misnomer...I didn't recognize one selection among the 19 tracks contained, but that may be the greatest appeal of this CD for any cornet player, brass player, or aficionado desiring some relatively unknown, but well-played, music from a bygone era. As I was listening to the CD, images of the turn-of-the century came to mind. I imagined sitting near a gazebo, while a community band and soloist performed on a summer's eve, or perhaps at a pavilion at the World's Fair. Having played french horn and other brass instruments in my youth, I was familiar with the names of Clarke and Arban (who wrote a celebrated Cornet Method still used today in many colleges and conservatories), and some of their better known compositions. But I have to admit, this materials was all new to me. For anyone wanting to supplement their brass CD collection with recordings not found anywhere else, this CD will do very nicely indeed. The playing by cornet player Gerard Schwarz in amazing, with technique to burn and a beautiful tone to match. Kudos also goes to the outstanding accompaniment he receives from the Columbia Chamber Ensemble. Also, please see my review of "Footlifters" (another winner), part of the Brass Masterworks series on Sony. Keep them coming.

This is Music.......2005-09-20

You would be hard pressed to find any recording that exhibits greater qualities of lightness, motion, and beautiful phrasing than this one. Add to that Schwartz's beautiful tone and flawless technique, and you have the perfect model of how these cornet solos should sound. I write as a trumpet player who has played quite a bit in this style.

Britten: The Turn Of The Screw / Britten, Pears, Vyvyan, Cross, et al

Average customer rating:

A great opera gains by taking on a taboo subject
Memorable Melancholy

Britten: The Turn Of The Screw / Britten, Pears, Vyvyan, Cross, et al

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Britten: The Rape of Lucretia; Phaedra
Britten: Albert Herring

ASIN: B0000041WD
Release Date: 2002-09-10

Tracks:

Act I: Prologue - Peter Pears
Act I: Theme/Scene 1 - Jennifer Vyvyan
Act I: Var I/Scene 2 - David Hemmings/Olive Dyer/Joan Cross/Jennifer Vyvyan
Act I: Var II/Scene 3 - Joan Cross/Jennifer Vyvyan/David Hemmings/Olive Dyer
Act I: Var III/Scene 4 - Jennifer Vyvyan
Act I: Var IV/Scene 5 - Olive Dyer/David Hemmings/Jennifer Vyvyan/Joan Cross
Act I: Var V/Scene 6 - David Hemmings/Olive Dyer/Jennifer Vyvyan
Act I: Var VI/Scene 7 - Olive Dyer/Jennifer Vyvyan/Daivd Hemmings
Act I: Var VII/Scene 8 - Peter Pears/David Hemmings/Arda Mandikian/Jennifer Vyvyan/Joan Cross

Tracks:

Act II: Var VIII/Scene 1 - Arda Mandikian/Peter Pears/Jennifer Vyvyan
Act II: Var IX/Scene 2 - David Hemmings/Olive Dyer/Joan Cross/Jennifer Vyvyan
Act II: Var X/Scene 3 - Jennifer Vyvyan/Arda Mandikian
Act II: Var XI/Scene 4 - David Hemmings/Jennifer Vyvyan/Peter Pears
Act II: Var XII/Scene 5 - Peter Pears
Act II: Var XIII/Scene 6 - Jennifer Vyvyan/Joan Cross/Olive Dyer
Act II: Var XIV/Scene 7 - Joan Cross/Jennifer Vyvyan/Olive Dyer/Arda Mandikian
Act II: Var XV/Scene 8 - Jennifer Vyvyan/Joan Cross/David Hemmings/Peter Pears

Customer Reviews:

A great opera gains by taking on a taboo subject.......2006-06-04

I wanted to say something about sex in The Turn of the Screw, but first I should give a succinct review. This 1954 mono recording, featuring the same singers who premiered the work, has always been considered exemplary. Most critics believed it would never be equalled, and the performances from Jennifer Vyvyan as the Governness, Peter Pears as Quint, and David Hemmings as Miles probably haven't been bettered over the past fifty years.

But a recent recording on Virgin is superior to Britten's classic account in three ways. First, we get state-of-the-art digital sound that allows us to hear much more of Britten's exquisitely orchestrated score. Second, Daniel Harding's conducting is edgier and more gripping than Britten's, excellent as he was. Third, the singers are tenser, more psychologically attuned to the plot's homosexual overtones, than the composer ever allowed his singers to be--Britten kept the drama well inside the bounds of a Victorian ghost story.

So, is the new version justified in making us think of sexual repression and abuse rather than simple scary ghosts?

James's novella was a boring staple of high school English class when I was a junior, and yet I imagine it would have been snatched from the classroom if anyone had intimated that it secretly concerned pedophilia. All we talked about was whether the ghosts were real or a figment of somebody's imagination. The reviewer below takes it for granted that "of course" Quint was a pedophile who sexually corrupted (to use the Victorian term--we would say sexually abused) the boy Miles. Thus the story--and Britten's opera--unfolds through the governess's eyes as she gradually uncovers the sexual crimes of the household, and her mounting horror is justified, not by ghosts haunting the two children, but by knowledge of what Quint did while alive.

In James's case, I think there is room for more ambiguity, the sexual implications being directed strongly to the governess more than the children; the effectiveness of the tale lies in its sexual ambiguity. Is a frigid spinster being frightened by her own libido? But Britten was without a doubt a repressed pedophile (someone more politely termed him an "intellectual pedophile," which doesn't even make sense). Since Quint appears on stage as a singer who is just as real as any ohter character, his cry of "you belong to me" at the end, just as Miles dies, gains by not being ambiguous. A real male is seducing a boy in front of our eyes, and by bringing that out, a staged production can be much more frightening than James's tale.

Memorable Melancholy.......2003-04-01

The original version of Turn of the Screw, featuring the fluid tenor of the composer's lover Peter Pears, is still the stand-out. Based on a Henry James novella, this ghost story probes a very current theme (one found in the film L.I.E. or the Catholic priest sex scandals): man-boy seduction. Pears' character Quint (a musical pun on its use of fifths), the libretto implies with typical British indirection, had sex with the boy Miles.
Even from beyond the grave, he continues his seduction with the honeyed words of librettist Piper and some haunting mellifluous melody by Britten. Miles' sister Flora is suffering a parallel seduction by salacious nanny Miss Jessel, which is less compelling, perhaps because it's less dear to James' or Britten's "haunted hearts."

The children's governess, a prudish Pollyanna, is horrified as Miles and Flora begin to seem autistic, listening to other voices only they can hear. Miles utters blasphemies as church bells ring, a sign of his influence under a pagan and pederastic seducer. The showdown comes at the end when Miles dies inexplicably. Morgan of James' short story "The Pupil" dies in this way too; for Henry James, then, the tension of oncoming pedophiliac consummation is mysteriously fatal.

Tension and mystery pervade Britten's score, but so does the detached melancholy of the inevitable. Britten whisks us through a kaleidoscope of emotions in this atmospheric chamber opera--The governess' nervous anticipation before meeting the children, her excitement upon meeting them, her numbing fear that all is not right at the manor house Bly. The boisterous group recitation of Miles' Latin lessons transforms into the boy's solo lament "Malo."

Customer Reviews:

Britten's lesser operas?.......2007-05-29

Of course it's all a matter of taste. I find most of Britten's operas first class with no exception. 'Gloriana' is an under-recorded jewel, full of melody and emotion. 'Turn of the Screw' a masterpiece of claustrophobic sense. 'Rape of Lucretia' full of chamber sensibility. And the performances cannot be bettered.
Need I say more? DECCA is paying an enormous service to collectors with these releases, especially those who have a real concern with storage space. They deserve 10 stars, if available.

Britten's lesser operas.......2007-05-13

I loved Britten's Operas 1. So I snatched this item up right away. It's o.k. but not as good as the first collection. Death in Venice was the only opera on these discs that I really cared for. It's every bit as good as the Hickox version so if you already have one there's really no need to buy the other. As for the other operas they're nowhere near as good as Billy Budd, Peter Grimes, or Albert Herring. For those just discovering Britten's operas start out with the first boxed set.

Average customer rating:

Legendary selections by a legendary voice

Legendary Irish Tenor

Manufacturer: Goldies
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Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005RVT2
Release Date: 2001-11-26

Tracks:

Mother Machree
Kathleen Mavourneen
Killarney
Dear Little Shamrock
Ave Maria
Little Love, A Little Kiss
Macushla
Wearing of the Green
Where the River Shannon Flows
Eileen Alannah
Molly Brannigan
Low Back'd Car
I'll Sing Thee Songs of Araby
Angels Guard Thee

Tracks:

My Wild Irish Rose
Serenata
Come into the Garden, Maud
Turn Ye to Me
Somewhere a Voice Is Calling
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere
Barcarolle
Sunshine of Your Smile
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Rose of Tralee
Ireland, Mother Ireland
Mother O' Mine
Bard of Armagh
Irish Emigrant

Tracks:

I Hear You Calling Me
Star of the County Down
Londonderry Air
She Moved Thro' the Fair
Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms
Kerry Dance
South Winds
By the Shortcut to the Rosses
Fairy Tree
Harp That Once Thro' Tara's Halls
Garden Where the Praties Grow
I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair
Bantry Bay
Dawning of the Day

Customer Reviews:

Legendary selections by a legendary voice.......2004-03-24

With special emphasis on the variety presented in this collection, this album has a broadness of scope that will appeal to anyone who appreciates the magic of the human voice.
McCormack was perhaps the most popular entertainer in the world during his career, comparable with the superstars of today, only richer in the currency of his day.
Though purists may have criticized his shift to the popular venue as opportunism, and perhaps desertion of his training in the classical tradtions, he was simply presenting what people wanted to hear. Whether he set a pattern of career management followed by modern entertainers or was simply happiest when the accolades flowed over him matters not. The talent and richness are his legacy to us.
His range and vocal dexterity are well illustrated and represented by this larger than usual collection, and anyone with a particular favorite tune in his rather loose genre will likely find it here.
After a journey through this collection, listeners may well gain another special melody or two for addition to their personal list of "best ever" songs and singers.
Although it may be considered a bit foolish, some will choose this album for only one or two tracks. Some call that trait wasteful, but when a jewel of performance is played again and again, the teardrop may fall once more, and the heart will thrill yet again.
This album will please many musical palates, even those who claim no special fondness for "Irish Tenors."

Listen to the Mocking Bird - Victorian and Turn-of-the-Century Songs - New York Vocal Arts Ensemble

Average customer rating:

Lovely, sweet, sentimental

Listen to the Mocking Bird - Victorian and Turn-of-the-Century Songs - New York Vocal Arts Ensemble
Raymond Beegle , Stephen Foster , and New York Vocal Arts Ensemble
Manufacturer: Arabesque Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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A Victorian Gentlemen's Songbook: James Griffett / Pro Cantione
Angels' Visits and Other Vocal Gems of Victorian America

ASIN: B000000T6G
Release Date: 1992-09-29

Tracks:

She's The Sweetest Of Them All
The Kerry Dance
The Horticultural Wife
Home! Sweet Home!
Crossing The Grand Sierras
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
The 'Rag Time Dance'
Listen To The Mocking Bird
Some Folks
The Last Rose Of Summer
I Took Her To The Ball
The Ash Grove
My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!

Customer Reviews:

Lovely, sweet, sentimental.......2004-07-18

These songs, from the "age of sentimentality" are fresh and rewarding to hear. The quartet of singers, the New York Vocal Arts Ensemble, render these popular songs from the turn of the century with grace, style, and sweet voices. The vocalists are restrained in their approach and keep things simple (best for these tunes). The vocal arrangements are traditional, fairly simple, but handled in such a way as to evoke sweet but not saccharine sensations.

The recording is perfectly balanced, intimate and the acoustic is not too dry.

Penny Merriments: Street Songs of 17th Century England
Average customer rating:
Penny Merriments: Street Songs of 17th Century England

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music
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Bawdy Ballads of Old England: The City Waites

Thomas D'Urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy: Lewd Songs and Low Ballads from the 18th Century

My Thing Is My Own: Bawdy Songs of Thomas D'Urfey

The King's Noyse, dir. David Douglass: Royal Delight: 17th Century Ballads & Dances

The English Tradition: 400 Years of Music & Song

ASIN: B0009JMEKQ
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Tracks:

The Courtiers Health, Or The Merry Boys Of The Times
The Country Lass
The Crost People, Or A Good Misfortune
The Courtryman's Joy
Seldom Cleanly
A Merry Jest Of John Thompson And Jakaman His Wife
The Seven Merry Wives Of London, Or The Gossips Complaint
Old England Grown New
Good Advice To Batchelors, How To Court And Obtain A Young Lass
Neptune's Raging Fury
The North Country Lovers
The Lunatick Lover
The Downfall Of Dancing
The Saint Turn'd Sinner
And Old Song On The Spanish Armada
The Female Captain, Or The Counterfit Bridegroom
London Mourning In Ashes
The Famous Ratcatcher

Average customer rating:

A must for hard core britten fans
excellent and terrific opera
Better Than the Composer's Own Recording!

Britten: The Turn of the Screw

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Britten: The Turn Of The Screw / Britten, Pears, Vyvyan, Cross, et al

ASIN: B00009NJ1G
Release Date: 2004-01-20

Tracks:

The Prologue
Theme: Scene 1 - The Journey
Variation I: Scene 2 - The Welcome
Variation II: Scene 3 - The Letter
Variation III: Scene 4 - The Tower
Variation IV: Scene 5 - The Window
Variation V: Scene 6 - The Lesson
Variation VI: Scene 7 - The Lake
Variation VII: Scene 8 - At Night

Tracks:

Variation VIII: Scene 1 - Colloquy And Soliloquy
Variation IX: Scene 2 - The Bells
Variation X: Scene 3 - Miss Jessel
Variation XI: Scene 4 - The Bedroom
Variation XII: Scene 5 - Quint
Variation XIII: Scene 6 - The Piano
Variation XIV: Scene 7 - Flora
Variation XV: Scene 8 - Miles

Customer Reviews:

A must for hard core britten fans.......2005-08-02

The concept of basing each scene of this chamber opera on a set of variations is a fascinating one. But its basically an intellectual excercise. This is one of Britten's most sterile scores. He wrote it quickly and it shows. The piece, based on a famous tale, works in the theater so it has held the stage. The cast of this recording is a group of top notch professionals so it is satisfying on that level. Just don't expect to be swept up in it like one can be with "Peter Grimes."

excellent and terrific opera.......2004-07-08

This is one of the greatest operas of Britten, based on a novella, an amazing ghost story of Henry James. The librettos was written by the composer's close friend Myfanwy Piper, who the librettist of "Death in Venice". The libretto is also very impressive, as like the main story.

This recording is really excellent. Actually, this was released on Collins Classics in 1994. The cast is very succesful. Felicity Lott's Governess, Sam Pay's (treble) Miles and of course Philip Langridge's Quint are excellent. And even so, Steuart Bedford is really a champion on performance of Britten's any works.

This recording is only comparable with Britten's own mono recording made in 1950's. This was made with Peter Pears as Quint role. But this Bedford recording, may be better than Britten's recording, because the composer's record is from 50s and mono, but Bedford's is an excellent stereo record made in 1990's.

This opera scored for a small ensemble, as you know. It calls only six singers and a 13-musicians ensemble. And this opera is a really excellent example of the composer's creating how very impressive and spine-chilling atmosphere with a small ensemble.

This 2-CD set also includes full libretto and detailed synopsis. At this price this is a must have for any Britten and opera admirers.

Highly recommended.

Better Than the Composer's Own Recording!.......2004-06-01

I didn't think I'd ever say this about a Britten opera recording, but we have here a modern performance that surpasses the one Britten conducted and recorded back in the 1950s. In every respect this is superior to the earlier album, with one exception: no one can surpass Peter Pears as the evil Peter Quint. Of course the part was written for him. This is not to say Philip Langridge doesn't do a wonderful job in his own portrayal; I guess I've been so imprinted on the sound of Pears's voice that I had some trouble making the switch. But the rest of the cast is simply superior to the earlier one. And this is particularly true in the case of the little boy, Miles, sung here by Sam Pay; he is sensational and easily outclasses David Hemmings (a not-very-good boy soprano who then grew up to become an actor in movies; remember him in 'Blowup' and as Mordred in 'Camelot'?). Pay's final 'Peter Quint, you devil!' is heart-breaking. Also superior are Felicity Lott as The Governess, Eileen Hulse as Flora, Phyllis Cannan as Mrs Grose, and Nadine Secunde as Miss Jessel. Further, the modern stereo sound replaces a rather harsh monaural recorded sound from the 1950s. This is particularly welcome as regards the orchestral sound; in the original recording the chamber orchestra sounded a bit thin and distant. Here the Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble is recorded in clear and lifelike sound. As well as I thought I knew the score, I heard new things in the orchestra that I hadn't known were there.

Steuart Bedford, of course, is our reigning Britten specialist. He was a long-time colleague of Britten's, has conducted all of his operas over the years, and was entrusted by the ailing Britten with the première of 'Death in Venice.'

This is actually a reissue by Naxos of a 2CD set first published in 1994 by the now-defunct Collins Classics. I'm sorry to say I missed it when it came out but thank goodness Naxos has seen fit to put it out again, as they did Collins's excellent 'Albert Herring' a year or so ago. It, like the recently reissued 'St. Nicholas' cantata, was also conducted by Bedford. One can hope that Bedford's other Collins/Britten CDs, including 'Gloriana,' orchestral music and several song recitals, will be reissued as well.

Scott Morrison

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